Underwood backs bill to prevent election interference

U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Naperville, joined two of her House colleagues in introducing legislation to help prevent foreign interference in U.S. elections.

The Foreign Influence Reporting in Elections, or FIRE, Act, would require political campaigns to report foreign attempts to influence U.S. elections to the Federal Election Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigations, according to a news release.

“We know that foreign adversaries are working to interfere in future elections, so the time is now to act to protect our democracy – we cannot afford to wait,” Underwood said.

Underwood argued the FIRE Act stipulates that any foreign nationals trying to make campaign contributions or offer information or coordination must be reported to federal authorities within a week. She said the bill would apply to all campaigns.

The bill would require campaigns to implement a compliance system to monitor reportable contacts between campaign representatives and foreigners and train all campaign employees on their legal reporting obligations.